Three Years In The Making
by jenniferxjlr
Summary: Three years after the Wizarding War that finally defeated Lord Voldemort, Hermione returns to Wizarding London in hopes of returning to her old life. She needs to win back the trust of her old friends, and maybe she'll fall in love along the way.
1. Returning to London

**Hey guys! This is my second story on FFnet, but this will be my first multi-chapter one.**

**It is set three years after the war.**

**The pairing will be George & Hermione. (Geomione)**

**I hope you all enjoy!**

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><p>It had been three years since the war. Three years since Hermione had seen her best friends. Three years since she decided to move to Australia in search of her parents. Three years since she found them and finally got them back. And three years since she finally gave into the guilt of just leaving her friends to mourn by themselves. She hadn't even left a note. She left with no good-byes in the dead of the night. She hadn't even stayed a full twenty four hours after the war had officially ended. Just got up and left her whole life as she'd known it behind. But today, exactly three years after the war that killed many people she loved, she was coming back. She finally decided that it was time that she owned up to what she had done to the people she loved. The only thing she hoped for was that they would bring her back into their lives. But if they did, she knew they wouldn't do it without a fight.<p>

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><p>Double checking that she had all of her belongings packed into her suitcase and duffle bag, Hermione walked out of her bedroom and made her way down the hallway to meet her parents in the living room. Even after insistent begging and pleading, her parents stood by their choice to stay in Australia.<p>

"Are you two _sure_ you don't want to come back to London with me?" Hermione asked, the pleading evident in her voice.

"Hermione," her father laughed, pulling her in for a hug. "We'll come and visit you soon. For now, our lives are in Australia."

"We're going to miss you, darling." Now it was her mother's turn to hug her. "We love you. And just like your father said, we'll visit you soon. Call us in a few days and let us know how everything's going, alright?" Hermione pulled away from the embrace, looking into her mother's eyes.

"I..." Hermione began. "I'm just afraid of leaving you guys again. What if something happens to you two while I'm gone?"

"Darling, _nothing_ is going to happen to us. There hasn't been an incident since you've been here, and there won't be any when you're gone," her mother reassured her, tears stinging her eyes.

"Oh, mum, dad." Hermione pulled both of them in for a hug, squeezing them tight. Both of her parents kissed her head a few times, none of them moving until Hermione finally pulled back. She wiped away stray tears that fell from her eyes, giving both her parents one last guy before shrinking her luggage and putting it in her pocket, pulling out her Portkey. With one last wave of good-bye, Hermione reluctantly left her parents house. She made it just down to the sidewalk before her Portkey activated, and she was whisked away to Wizarding London.

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><p>Hermione managed to land safely, although she stumbled a little. Shaking her head to stop the spinning, she closed her eyes, trying to relax. She was all jittery and on edge; the reality of what she was doing was finally starting to kick in.<p>

"Well, there's no turning back now," Hermione muttered to herself. She finally opened her eyes and looked around. She was in front of The Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley; memories of her times at Hogwarts came back to her, flooding her mind. She willed herself not to cry as she entered the building, looking around the place to see that not much had changed. She couldn't help but notice that the noise level had lowered when she stepped inside, but she chose to ignore it.

"Maybe getting something to drink will help my nerves." And with that Hermione made her way over to the bar, ignoring the whispers that had erupted. To Hermione, it wasn't much of a big deal that she was back. But to the rest of Wizarding London, it was a large surprise.

"A Firewhiskey, please," Hermione said the back of the blonde bartender's head. Sitting down, Hermione watched with surprise as the woman turned around. It was a face that she recognized.

"Hannah Abbott?" Hermione squeeked just as Hannah yelled, "Hermione Granger?"

"What are you doing here?" Both girl asked at the same time. Hannah closed her eyes and shook her head. By now, more than a few people were blatantly staring at the bar, recognizing the war hero's name.

"No. No, no, no. This is not happening."

"Hannah... I- I didn't know you worked here."

Hannah re-opened her eyes, blinking a few times as if she thought Hermione was only a mirage and she would disappear any second right before her eyes.

"Well," she started. "I don't suppose you would know much about what was going on, considering you just up and left. Where _have_ you been? Nobody's seen you in three bloody years!" Hermione could tell that the woman was trying to maintain a calm and quiet voice, but she was barely succeeding.

"It's a long story, Hannah." Hermione took a deep breath. "Can... can you keep this a secret? Just for now. I don't want the others to know just yet." She paused. "That is, if you still talk to them."

"Yes, actually, I do talk to them every once in a while. It's hard not to when your husband is a close friend of theirs."

"W-who are you married to?" Hermione questioned. Her eyes darted to Hannah's left hand and landed on a wedding ring that was slipped onto her ring finger. It wasn't anything fancy, but Hermione couldn't deny that it was beautiful.

"Let's just say I'm not Hannah Abbott anymore. I'd prefer it if you called me Hannah Longbottom," she informed Hermione, a smile pushing past the shock of the moment.

"That's great, Hannah!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I know. We- wait. No, don't change the subject! Why are you back?" Hannah leaned forward on the bar, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"I would love to tell you. I honestly would... I just think it would be better if everybody got together and I could tell the story one time. That's all I'm asking for."

"Well, Neville and I were going to The Burrow tomorrow to celebrate James' first birthday. Maybe we can all meet up some place after?"

"James?" Hermione asked, her confusion appearing on her features.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know." Hannah held up her forefinger, signaling Hermione to wait a moment. She scurried off into the back room, reappearing with a few pictures. Laying them down on top of the bar, Hermione picked them up, gasping when she saw a young boy, still very young, staring at her.

"He looks just like-"

"Harry? Yes, well, that's because it's his son."

Hermione dropped the pictures in shock.

"Harry's got a _son__?_"

"Yeah, he does." Hannah stared at the photograph with adoration. "He's brilliant. Looks just like him, too. You wouldn't be able to guess who his mother was if you saw him."

"Who is his mother?"

"Who do you think?" Hannah now had a smirk on her face.

"Is it Ginny? Oh, please let it be Ginny!"

"Don't worry," the blonde laughed. "It is. They got engaged a few months after the war, got married the next winter."

Hermione's head was now swimming; she had missed so much in the few years she had been gone. Guilt and regret were bubbling up in the pit of her stomach. She had missed her own best friend's wedding, for Merlin's sake!

"How about I get you that Firewhiskey and a room key. Reckon you haven't a place to stay just yet."

"No, I don't, actually. Thank you, Hannah."

"Don't mention it." Hannah grabbed a bottle of Firewhiskey, pouring it into a small glass cup, putting a few cubes of ice in afterwards. After putting it in front of Hermione, she walked off to go and grab a key to a spare room.

Taking a hesitant sip of her beverage, Hermione began thinking about all of the things she had missed out on. She wondered who else had been married or had kids in the time she'd been gone. It was scary knowing that she barely knew the people she had once been close to.

"Here you go. You might want to go in and unpack; it's getting late. Stay as long as you'd like, free of charge."

"Hannah, no, it's fine. I can pay for it. I don't want to be a bur-"

"Hermione, just take the room. _Please._" Hannah smiled at her, walking away to attend to another customer.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hermione downed her glass of Firewhiskey, ignoring the burning sensation that was slithering down her throat, Hermione stood up and made her way towards her room. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

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><p><strong>Okay, there was no Geomione in that. But I'm getting there! I want to introduce Hermione into the story first &amp; get all the information in before I start it. So bear with me!<strong>

**And sorry for any mistakes. I don't have a Beta & I'm too tired to read through it. Plus. it's 4 AM & I'm meant to wake up for school in a few hours. Looks like an all nighter for me. :P**


	2. The Leaky Cauldron

**Just a warning, this is probably just going to be a boring, fluffy, filler chapter.**

**I'll tell you guys again, I'm getting to the good stuff!**

**I own nothing that you recognize from Harry Potter! (No matter how bad I wish I did!)**

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><p>Hermione awoke the next morning, not feeling refreshed in the least. She would have felt better if she knew how the day was going to go, but for the time being, all she could do was hope for the best and get it over with.<p>

Throwing back the covers, Hermione swung her legs out of bed and she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and stood up, lazily making her way towards the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she opened her eyes, she almost gasped. She was beginning to get dark bags under her eyes, and her eyes were bloodshot. Surely she hadn't been up that late last night... Or had she? She didn't remember what time she had finally dozed off, but she was sure she had seen sunlight beginning to stream through her window.

"Merlin," Hermione muttered as she went through her make-up bag, trying to find her concealer. She wasn't about to go walking around looking the way she did. After putting it on, she did the rest of her morning routine and walked back into the bedroom to get changed.

Hermione left her room a little while later and made her way to the bar. She was starving and judging by the amount of light coming through the windows, it seemed as though she'd missed breakfast.

"Hey, Hermione. How'd you sleep?" Hannah asked, right away noticing Hermione's arrival.

"I slept alright, but I'm still so tired. What's the time?"

"Er... about 2 PM. You slept pretty late."

"Yeah, well, I probably went to bed late, too." Hannah gave Hermione a sympathetic smile.

"Well, what can I get you?"

"Hm... a burger sounds great right about now," Hermione told her, laughing.

"Coming right up."

With Hannah gone for the moment, Hermione took the time to survey the rest of the place. It was certainly better looking than what she remembered it to be. Hannah and Neville had fixed the place up nicely. It wasn't as dingy as before, and there was a more welcoming feel to the place. The people, however, hadn't really changed over the years. But Hermione didn't mind that; it made her feel a little more at home than when she got here.

"One burger for you, ma'am," Hannah said brightly as she put the plate in front of her. Hermione turned to face the girl, giving her a thankful smile.

"Thanks, Hannah," said Hermione, not hesitating to dive into her burger, which Hannah laughed at.

"So, have you thought at all about today?" Hannah asked Hermione before excusing herself to attend to a customer. Hermione waited for her to come back before speaking.

"Today? What do you mean?" And again, Hannah was off, carrying mugs of Butterbeer in both of her hands.

"Do you want me to talk to everybody about meeting up after James' party?"

"Oh... uh, to be honest, I hadn't thought about it much." Hannah was off again, returning after a few minutes.

"I'll talk to them about it and I'll get back to you. But as of now, my shift is over and I need to get ready for the party. April should be here soon... She works here part-time," Hannah informed her. "Just so you know, she's not the friendliest of birds. But don't mind her." Hannah gave her a departing wave and left to the back room, no doubt getting her things ready to leave.

Sighing, Hermione was now by herself, left to deal with her own thoughts. Had Hannah told her husband about her return to London? Hermione wouldn't be surprised because, after all, they _were_ married. And married couples told their spouse everything, right? Hermione wasn't sure, seeing as she wasn't married, or even in a committed relationship.

'How will they even react?' Hermione thought. 'I know Ron will be _furious_. I doubt Harry would be very kind about it, either. I just hope Molly will forgive me. Maybe she could talk some sense into everybody else.'

"Can I get anything else for you?"

Hermione looked up, startled at the sudden noise. In front of her was a girl with dirty blonde hair in a high ponytail, curled at the ends. She wore no make-up, but then again, she didn't need it. On top of her above average beauty was a snide look, directed directly at Hermione. Glancing down at the girl's name tag, her assumptions were correct; it was April.

"Uhm," Began Hermione as she cleared her throat and sat up just a hair. "No, actually. I won't be needing anything else." She could have laughed at her failed attempt at kindness, but if the girl wouldn't show her the same respect, then why should she bother?

"Alright. Let me know if you do." April had already began walking off before she could finish her sentence. Wrinkling her nose as the girl passed, Hermione ate the last few bites of her burger before taking out the correct amount of money, dropping it in front of her for April to pick up. She then got up and made her way towards the door that would lead her to Diagon Alley. After these past few years, she decided she needed to re-visit a few stores and maybe pick up a few things.

After getting past the brick wall, Hermione paused to view her surroundings. There were slight changes made after the war, but otherwise it looked the same. There were even a few shops that looked to be new. Taking a deep breath to ready herself, Hermione began walking down the street to enter the shops, hoping with all her might that nobody would notice her; if people did, there would be instant gossip and rumors as to why the war hero finally made an appearance, three long years after the war.

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><p><strong>Okay, guys, I didn't get it up as soon as I'd have liked! But here it is!<strong>

**And it wasn't as long as I liked, & the ending wasn't satisfying for me, but it'll do for now! I'll make the next one extra long; I promise! :)**

**_Please, please, pleaseeee _review! It would mean the world to me!**

**Any criticisms, comments, concerns, etc. are welcome! Thanks guys! xoxo**


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